NOGALES, Ariz. — Arizona native Laiken Jordahl recently took us to his favorite place.
“We are driving up right now to the border wall outside of Nogales.”
What You Need To Know
- About 220 miles of border wall went up around Arizona during the last two years
- Some areas have been permanently damaged or destroyed due to border wall construction
- Most border wall construction contracts have been cancelled by President Biden
- Although wall construction has generally stopped in Arizona, there are still half-built trenches, old vehicle barriers in piles and roads that lead to nowhere
Jordahl comes to the area so often that he could drive the roads with his eyes closed. That’s why after college, he joined the National Park Service and, more recently, the Center for Biological Diversity.
“My goal was to be a steward of the land, to protect wildlife and wilderness and to protect these beautiful places for future generations,” he said.
Jordahl explained how it was the first time in months the area was quiet, without the buzz of construction crews, cranes or dynamite.
“All you can hear are the beautiful chirping birds and the wind blowing through the cottonwood trees.”
During the last two years, 220 miles of border wall went up around Arizona, and to do it, construction crews were brought into remote areas like Guadalupe Canyon.
“We’ve watched thousands of pounds of dynamite be detonated in wilderness areas,” said Jordahl. “We’ve seen mountain ranges be leveled to build the border wall.”
In the Patagonia Mountains, wall contracts were cancelled weeks before the wall went into the ground, but by then, crews had already built a road in an area where endangered animals move through.
“This path, this horrific scar, is the size of a four-lane highway,” Jordahl said. “You can land an airplane on this massive scar that they’ve cut through the Patagonia mountains.”
Remote areas like El Camino del Diablo have now become more established routes for trafficking, according to Jordahl.
“It’s a pretty deep irony… But by blasting roads into these wilderness areas, it actually opened up new routes for smugglers to take,” he said.
Customs and Border Protection refutes that, however, claiming the new border wall has been highly effective, with illegal crossings falling by up to 87%.
Now that most border wall construction contracts have been cancelled, crews have generally gone, but there are still half-built trenches with cement, old vehicle barriers in piles and roads that lead to nowhere.
“We are now urging the administration to start restoring all of this damage, repair the damage that we can repair,” said Jordahl.
Until then, Jordhahl keep being a steward of the land.
“All of life is interconnected and interdependent,” he said. “I think all of us have an obligation to speak up for those that are more vulnerable than we are.”
